“Winter” in San Francisco is just about the best time of year to enjoy this wonderful city. I met Irene and Mike a few days after New Year’s Eve to photograph their engagement session. We started at the Lyon Street steps where the two of them used to run; they now live in Detroit where Mike is in residency. It was fun traveling around the city to their favorite spots, getting to know them, and enjoy their good nature and humor! Their wedding is going to be fantastic–it’s at the Ritz in Half Moon Bay toward the end of September!

In late June I met up with Lindsey and Patrick to photograph their engagement portraits. We had a great time traveling around the northern section of San Francisco and across the Golden Gate in Kirby Cove. I kept thinking about how the Sierra range some 150 miles east is well known as “The Range Of Light,” and what with those same light rays passing through San Francisco first-it’s no wonder such wonderful luminance exists there in the afternoon! I’m already looking forward to being back with this fantastic couple at the end of September for their wedding!

I met up with Gabrielle and Tim a few days ago during their Holiday visit to Sun Valley. These two are getting married in Chicago late in 2014 and wanted to get some wintry mountain engagement images while here. I was fortunate to land the gig and had a great afternoon capturing their portraits!

A few weeks back I had the great pleasure of photographing Ashley and TJ’s engagement photos. We spent the afternoon cruising around the southern portion of the Wood River Vally here in Idaho and had a great time hitting up a bunch of rural spots. Ashley and Tj are crazy fun, goofy, and head over heels in love! Their wedding is going to be held up in Ketchum next summer and I have a good feeling it’s going to be a phenomenal celebration!

In San Diego, locals have terms for the late spring months, “May-gray” and “June-gloom.” This past Sunday, when I first looked out the window and learned that the skies over Sun Valley were going to be more like a May-gray day-I wondered if the 60% showers which were expected might hinder the afternoon engagement session I had booked with Jessica and Andy. So, I called to see if they wanted to postpone the gig one day. Luckily, they didn’t answer! We met up mid-afternoon and set out up Warm Springs canyon, then headed back through Sun Valley and finished up Trail Creek canyon; each time missing the rain and thunderstorms that threatened our session. It was great getting to know these two and capturing images of the fun they have together!

The law of conservation of energy states that the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains constant over time (Wikipedia). The way I see it-what you put in, you’ll get out. Sarah and Devin put some great energy into planning their engagement session and I hope the images I captured are an equal return. It was a pleasure getting to know these two, talking about their love of baseball, beer, and their upcoming Yosemite Valley wedding I’m excited to be photographing. Their choice of Mendocino as home base for their portraits allowed us a great variety of locations to choose from: Glendeven Inn, my good friend Suzy Long’s watertower art studio, redwood groves, lighthouses, and the Mendocino Presbyterian Church.

I met Rebecca while photographing a wedding down in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, early last year. Rebecca’s great friend, Leah, was getting married to Jimmy and I was their photographer; as seen here. Unfortunately, Becca’s beau was unable to make the Baja trip and I was not afforded the pleasure of his acquaintance until a few months ago. I’ve since been hired to photograph this fun couple’s summer wedding which will be held up at Trail Creek Cabom in Sun Valley, Idaho. This past Friday, they swung into the Wood River Valley for their engagement session. We hopped in my car and headed north to Stanley and back, stopping at places I thought would be fun to use as backdrops: Galena Lodge, Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch, etc. It was a fun session thanks to their easy going demeanors and contagious laughter! Here are some of the pics we captured….

At the end of September I flew out to San Francisco to meet Genny and Humberto to photograph their engagement session. It was an amazing day and one of the warmest I’ve ever experienced in the city. Humberto proposed under Cupid’s Span and so began our portrait session there. By the time we were above the Golden Gate in the Marin Headlands, the temps had dropped 30 degrees, the wind had come up, and it was a more typical San Francisco “summer” day. Throughout the day, it was great getting to know this couple who have ties to the same town in Mexico, have known one another since childhood, and are excited about their future together. Their wedding will be in the Bay Area this April!

Whitney and Gabe met me in the southern reaches of the Wood River Valley here in Idaho for their engagement session. Four hours prior to our start, it was snowing at and the visibility was so poor you couldn’t see the peaks. We stuck with the game plan and were rewarded with the pure light of a clearing storm!

In early July Mary and Steve booked me for their August 27th wedding here in Sun Valley. I was able to photograph their engagement session on July 31st as I was already in San Francisco that weekend to photograph a wedding. We met up that wintry Sunday afternoon and proceeded to have a fun photo session cruising around the Presidio. Time flies and their wedding is already only a week away!